Centering guide

ABSTRACT

A centering guide for aiding an operator in feeding laundry articles onto a conveyor of a laundry treating machine in a predetermined position laterally. In a preferred embodiment, the centering guide includes first and second guide structures having elongated, parallel guide surfaces extending in the direction of movement of the conveyor and terminating in close overlying relationship to the conveyor, so that the operator may slide the side portions of a laundry article along the guide surfaces onto the conveyor. The midpoint between the guide surfaces is centered relative to a portion of the machine so that the laundry article is automatically centered when it is applied to the conveyor. Means is provided for adjusting the first and second guide structures toward and away from each other, the adjusting means including a rod having oppositely threaded sections engaging threaded portions of the guide structures and rotatable by operation of an actuator to move the guide structures in left and right directions.

United States Patent [191' Gerstenberger [451 Sept. 4, 1973 CENTERING GUIDE [75] Inventor: Roland W. Gerstenberger, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

[73] Assignee: Jensen Machinery Inc., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

[22] Filed: Mar. 6, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 232,014

[52] US. Cl 271/49, 38 /143, 270/61 Primary ExaminerEvon C. Blunk Assistant Examiner-Bruce H. Stoner, Jr. Attorney-John 1-1. Oltman et a1.

[57] ABSTRACT A centering guide for aiding an operator in feeding laundry articles onto a conveyor of a laundry treating machine in a predetermined position laterally. In a preferred embodiment, the centering guide includes first and second guide structures having elongated, parallel guide surfaces extending in the direction of movement of the conveyor and terminating in close overlying relationship to the conveyor, so that the operator may slide the side portions of a laundry article along theguide surfaces onto the conveyor. The midpoint between the guide surfaces is centered relative to a portion of the machine so that the laundry article is automatically centered when it is applied to the conveyor. Means is provided for adjusting the first and second guide structures toward and away from each other, the adjusting means including a rod having oppositely threaded sections engaging threaded portions of the guide structures and rotatable by operation of an actuator to move the guide structures in left and right directions.

12 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTED EP 41975 sum 1 or 2 FIG.I

CENTERING GUIDE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Laundry treating machines such as folders sometimes require that a laundry article be fed into the machine in a predetermined lateral position relative to at least a portion of the machine. In a particular machine, by way of example, the first fold in an article is made by a cross folder which involves blowing the center of an article between rollers which then pinch the article and fold it in half in a crosswise sense relative to the initial direction of travel of the article. In order for the cross folder to fold the article at its center, the article should be fed into the machine in a centered position laterally relative to the cross folding rollers.

In other machines, folding may occur at a portion of an article other than the center thereof, but it is sometimes still necessary to have the article fed into the machine in a pre-determined position laterally in order to have a fold occur at the desired portion of the article. Such a machine might be a quarter-folder. In time, an operator may become reasonably proficient at centering or positioning a laundry article on a conveyor by sighting or aiming methods. However, such methods are relatively unreliable and demand that the operator pay strict attention to the aiming process while feeding the articles. Thus, the operator may be subjected to a fatigue factor which in time may impair the effectiveness of her efforts to center the articles and may also cut down the speed of her work.

Thus, while there is a need for an effective and easy way to aid an operator in centering or otherwise positioning an article as it is fed into a laundry machine, the solution to the problem should be such that it does not limit the capabilities of the laundry machine; for example, it should not make it difficult to feed articles of different widths into the machine.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION of an actuator. The actuator rotates a rod which has oppositely threaded sections engaging threaded portions of the centering means for moving the guide structures and the two guide surfaces toward and away from each other.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a centering guide with which an operator can quickly and easily feed and simultaneously position a laundry article on a conveyor of a laundry machine.

Another object of the invention is to make the centering guide adjustable so that it can guide laundry articles of different widths.

Another object of the invention is to provide a guide capable of positioning a laundry article on a conveyor where it can be folded at any desired portion thereof.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved guide which is capable of speeding up the workof feeding a laundry article onto a conveyor without increasing the fatigue factor for the operator.

Still another, and no less important, object of the invention is to provide a guide for facilitating the feeding of laundry articles which is simple, rugged and reliable in use, and economical to fabricate.

Other objects of this invention will appear from the following description and appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawingsforming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an operator feeding a laundry article onto a conveyor utilizing the guide of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the front end of the conveyor and the centering guide;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the end of the conveyor and the centering guide; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of threaded members and rods which are portions of the centering guide, this view being take along line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

Before explaining the present invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed hereinis for the purpose of description and not of limitation. 1

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The laundry treating machine 10 may be a folding machine having a conveyor 12 at the entrance end thereof which feeds laundry articles onto another conveyor 14 extending longitudinally along the treating machine 10. The actual folding mechanism of the machine 10 is not shown since it does not form a part of the present invention. However, in the particular machine illustrated in the drawings, there is a cross folder associated with the conveyor 14. The cross folder includes a pair of oppositely rotating rollers under the upper run of the conveyor 14 and a means for blowing air between the rollers, the latter means being located above the conveyor l4. As a laundry article moves into a predetermined position over the rollers, air jets blow the center of the laundry article between the rollers which then pinch the article and pull it between the rollers, thus folding it in half. The axes of the rollers ex- I tend lengthwise of the conveyor 14, and the contacting surfaces of the rollers are centered relative to the middle of the conveyor 14.

In such a machine, it is necessary to have the laundry I article 16 centered relative to the conveyors 12 and14 in order for the folding rollers to fold the article at its midpoint. Of course, the article could be. folded at some portion other than its midpoint, and it would still be necessary to have the laundry article 16 centered or in a predetermined position on the conveyors sothat articles would be folded consistently at the right place.'

In the machine 10, a guide device generally designated 18 is provided to assist the operator in feeding the laundry articles 16 onto the conveyor 12 of the machine 10 in a predetermined lateral position relative to the conveyor 12 and also relative to a treating portion of the machine 10. The guide 18 includes first and second centering means 20 and 22 which have plate portions 24 and 26 above the upper run 28 of the conveyor 12. The plate portions 24 and 26 have elongated, smooth guide surfaces 30 and 32 in the form of ridges which extend lengthwise in the direction of movement of the conveyor. These ridges may in actuality be the upper surfaces of cylindrical rods which extend along the inner side edges of the plate portions 24 and 26 and bend around the front end 34 of the conveyor to provide rod portions 36 and 38 under the conveyor. The rods may be welded to the plate portions.

Mounted on the rod portions 36 and 38 are threaded block members 40 and 42. The block members 40 and 42 may be welded to the rods 36 and 38 as at 44 and 46. An adjusting rod 48 spans the distance between the threaded block members 40 and 42 and has oppositely threaded sections 50 and 52 engaging the interior threads of the block members 40 and 42. Thus, when the rod 48 is rotated, the block members 40 and 42 together with the rods 36 and 38 and the plate portions 24 and 26 of the first and second guide structures move toward or away from each other depending on the direction of rotation of the rod 48.

One of the threaded block members 40 is shown in FIG. 4. The lower portion 36 of a rod which provides the guide surface 32 may also be seen there. The end of the threaded rod 48 is approximately at the middle of the block member 40. It may be seen that two other rods 54 and 56 are slidably engaged by the block member 40. Rods 54 and 56 fit loosely in openings 58 and 60 in the block member 40 and also in the other block member 42 so that these block members can slide back and forth on the rods 54 and 60 responsive to rotation of the rod 48. The internal threads of the block 40 may be provided by a nut 62 as shown. The ends of the rods 54 and 56 are mounted in mounting members 64 and 66 which are attached to frame members 68 and 70 of the conveyor 12 as with bolts 72 and 74. Similar bolts 76 and 78 are provided for the mounting member 64.

The rod 48 extends through the mounting member 66 to the right side of the conveyor 12 as viewed in FIG. 3, and an actuator in the form of a wheel 80 which may be turned by hand is mounted on the right end of the rod 48. Rotation of the wheel 80 turns the rod 48.

In operation, the operator turns the wheel 80 to rotate the rod 48 and move the first and second centering means 20 and 22 toward or away from each other until the guide surfaces 30 and 32 are spread apart by approximately the same distance as the width of the laundry article 16. The midpoint of the guide 18 remains approximately at the center of the conveyor 12 and also centered or aligned relative to the cross folder described previously. The operator grasps the laundry article 16 between the thumb and forefingers as shown in FIG. 1, and slides the side portions of the article along the raised guide surfaces 30 and 32 onto the conveyor 28. The guide surfaces 30 and 32 terminate close to the conveyor 28, but the guide surfaces 30 and 32 may extend at an angle relative to the conveyor as shown in FIG. 2. Surfaces 30 and 32 provide a smooth guide along which the thumb and forefinger may slide onto the conveyor.

If it is desired to feed an article of different width into the machine, the wheel 80 is turned again to adjust the first and second guide structures 20 and 22 to the new width of the article. In ordinary practice, a number of articles of a given width will be fed into the machine successively before it is necessary to readjust the guide to a new width.

Articles may be fed rapidly onto the conveyor 28 utilizing the guide 18. The operator can easily slide the edges of the articles along the raised surfaces 30 and 32 onto the conveyor so she can work rapidly without undue fatigue. This speeds up production while at the same time assisting the operator in her work.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a laundry treating machine having a conveyor at an entrance thereof for conveying laundry articles into the machine, a centering guide for aiding an operator in feeding the laundry articles onto the conveyor in a predetermined position laterally, said centering guide comprising laterally spaced first and second centering guide structures overlying an upper run of the conveyor and each having an elongated smooth guide surface along the top extending in the direction of movement of said upper run of the conveyor, said guide surfaces extending parallel to each other and terminating away from the entrance end of the conveyor in close overlying relationship to said upper run of the conveyor so that the operator may slide the opposite side portions of a laundry article along said guide surfaces onto the conveyor, the midpoint between said guide surfaces having a predetermined position laterally relative to a treating portion of the machine, and means for adjusting said first and second centering guide structures laterally toward and away from each other in left and right directions relative to said midpoint for adapting said centering guide structures to guide laundry articles of different widths.

2. The centering guide as claimed in claim 1 in which the guide surfaces on said first and second centering guide structures are equally spaced laterally on opposite sides of a treating portion of the machine to center the laundry articles with respect thereto, and said guide surfaces incline toward said upper run of the conveyor in the direction away from the entrance end of the conveyor.

3. The centering guide as claimed in claim 2 in which said guide surfaces comprise elongated rounded ridges.

4. The centering guide as claimed in claim 1 in which said adjusting means includes a rod spanningthe distance between said centering guide structures below the conveyor and having oppositely threaded sections respectively engaging threaded portions of said centering guide structures for laterally adjusting the same oppositely, and actuator means for rotating said rod.

5. The centering guide as claimed in claim 4 in which said adjusting means further includes at least one unthreaded rod mounted under said conveyor parallel to said threaded rod and slidably engaged by said first and second centering guide structures for guiding the left and right movement thereof.

6. The centering guide as claimed in claim 5 in which said conveyor has a frame including depending portions supporting said rods, and wherein there are two of said unthreaded rods mounted respectively in front and in back of said threaded rod.

7. A centering guide according to claim 1, wherein each of said guide surfaces is located at the laterally inward side of the respective guide structure.

8. A centering guide according to claim 7, wherein each of said guide surfaces is provided by an elongated rod which is curved lengthwise down across the entrance end of the conveyor.

9. A centering guide for a laundry treating machine having a conveyor at an entrance end thereof for aiding an operator in feeding laundry articles onto the conveyor in a predetermined position laterally relative to a treating portion of the machine, said centering guide comprising laterally spaced first and second centering guide structures overlying an upper run of the conveyor and each having an elongated, smooth, guide surface along the top extending in the direction of movement of said upper run of the conveyor, said guide surfaces extending parallel to each other and terminating away from the entrance end of the conveyor in close overlying relationship to said upper run of the conveyor so that the operator may slide the opposite side portions of an article along said guide surfaces onto the conveyor, the midpoint between said guide surfaces having a predetermined position laterally relative to a treating portion of the machine, said first and second centering guide structures each extending from a position above said upper run of said conveyor down around the entrance end of said conveyor to the underside thereof and having threaded portions under said conveyor, a rod spanning the distance between said centering guide structures under the conveyor and having oppositely threaded sections respectively threadedly engaging said threaded portions of said centering guide structures thereat for laterally adjusting the same in opposite directions, actuator means for rotating said rod available at one side of said conveyor, and means supporting said rod and said threaded portions of said centering guide structures.

10. A centering guide according to claim 9, wherein each of said guide surfaces is provided by an elongated rod which is curved lengthwise down across the entrance end of the conveyor.

11. A centering guide according to claim 10, wherein said guide surfaces are located at the laterally inward sides of the respective guide structures.

12. In a laundry treating machine, a centering guide for aiding an operator in feeding laundry articles onto a conveyor of the machine in a predetermined position laterally of the machine, said centering guide comprising laterally spaced first and second centering guide structures including plate portions overlying an upper run of the conveyor, said plate portions each having an elongated smooth guide ridge extending in the direction of movement of said upper run of the conveyor and providing guides for the thumb and forefinger of an operator, said guide ridges extending parallel to each other and terminating away from the entrance end of the conveyor in close overlying relationship to said upper run of the conveyor so that the operator may slide the opposite side portions of a laundry article along said guide ridges onto the conveyor, said centering guide structures each including an elongated extension extending from said plate portions down around the entrance end of said conveyor to the underside thereof and threaded members affixed to said extension located under said conveyor, a rod having oppositely threaded portions respectively engaging said threaded members of said centering guide structures for laterally adjusting the same oppositely to move said plate portions toward and away from each other, at least one unthreaded rod mounted under said conveyor parallel to said threaded rod and slidably engaged by said threaded members of said centering guide structures for guiding'the left and right movement thereof, actuator means for rotating said threaded rod, and means supporting said rods.- 

1. In a laundry treating machine having a conveyor at an entrance thereof for conveying laundry articles into the machine, a centering guide for aiding an operator in feeding the laundry articles onto the conveyor in a predetermined position laterally, said centering guide comprising laterally spaced first and second centering guide structures overlying an upper run of the conveyor and each having an elongated smooth guide surface along the top extending in the direction of movement of said upper run of the conveyor, said guide surfaces extending parallel to each other and terminating away from the entrance end of the conveyor in close overlying relationship to said upper run of the conveyor so that the operator may slide the opposite side portions of a laundry article along said guide surfaces onto the conveyor, the midpoint between said guide surfaces having a predetermined position laterally relative to a treating portion of the machine, and means for adjusting said first and second centering guide structures laterally toward and away from each other in left and right directions relative to said midpoint for adapting said centering guide structures to guide laundry articles of different widths.
 2. The centering guide as claimed in claim 1 in which the guide surfaces on said first and second centering guide structures are equally spaced laterally on opposite sides of a treating portion of the machine to center the laundry articles with respect thereto, and said guide surfaces incline toward said upper run of the conveyor in the direction away from the entrance end of the conveyor.
 3. The centering guide as claimed in claim 2 in which said guide surfaces comprise elongated rounded ridges.
 4. The centering guide as claimed in claim 1 in which said adjusting means includes a rod spanning the distance between said centering guide structures below the conveyor and having oppositely threaded sections respectively engaging threaded portions of said centering guide structures for laterally adjusting the same oppositely, and actuator means for rotating said rod.
 5. The centering guide as claimed in claim 4 in which said adjusting means further includes at least one unthreaded rod mounted under said conveyor parallel to said threaded rod and slidably engaged by said first and second centering guide structures for guiding the left and right movement thereof.
 6. The centering guide as claimed in claim 5 in which said conveyor has a frame including depending portions supporting said rods, and wherein there are two of said unthreaded rods mounted respectively in front and in back of said threaded rod.
 7. A centering guide according to claim 1, wherein each of said guide surfaces is located at the laterally inward side of the respective guide structure.
 8. A centering guide according to claim 7, wherein each of said guide surfaces is provided by an elongated rod which is curved lengthwise down across the entrance end of the conveyor.
 9. A centering guide for a laundry treating machine having a conveyor at an entrance end thereof for aiding an operator in feeding laundry articles onto the conveyor in a predetermined position laterally relative to a treating portion of the machine, said centering guide comprising laterally spaced first and second centering guide structures overlying an upper run of the conveyor and each having an elongated, smooth, guide surface along the top extending in the direction of movement of said upper run of the conveyor, said guide surfaces extending parallel to each other and terminating away from the entrance end of the conveyor in close overlying relationship to said upper run of the conveyor so that the operator may slIde the opposite side portions of an article along said guide surfaces onto the conveyor, the midpoint between said guide surfaces having a predetermined position laterally relative to a treating portion of the machine, said first and second centering guide structures each extending from a position above said upper run of said conveyor down around the entrance end of said conveyor to the underside thereof and having threaded portions under said conveyor, a rod spanning the distance between said centering guide structures under the conveyor and having oppositely threaded sections respectively threadedly engaging said threaded portions of said centering guide structures thereat for laterally adjusting the same in opposite directions, actuator means for rotating said rod available at one side of said conveyor, and means supporting said rod and said threaded portions of said centering guide structures.
 10. A centering guide according to claim 9, wherein each of said guide surfaces is provided by an elongated rod which is curved lengthwise down across the entrance end of the conveyor.
 11. A centering guide according to claim 10, wherein said guide surfaces are located at the laterally inward sides of the respective guide structures.
 12. In a laundry treating machine, a centering guide for aiding an operator in feeding laundry articles onto a conveyor of the machine in a predetermined position laterally of the machine, said centering guide comprising laterally spaced first and second centering guide structures including plate portions overlying an upper run of the conveyor, said plate portions each having an elongated smooth guide ridge extending in the direction of movement of said upper run of the conveyor and providing guides for the thumb and forefinger of an operator, said guide ridges extending parallel to each other and terminating away from the entrance end of the conveyor in close overlying relationship to said upper run of the conveyor so that the operator may slide the opposite side portions of a laundry article along said guide ridges onto the conveyor, said centering guide structures each including an elongated extension extending from said plate portions down around the entrance end of said conveyor to the underside thereof and threaded members affixed to said extension located under said conveyor, a rod having oppositely threaded portions respectively engaging said threaded members of said centering guide structures for laterally adjusting the same oppositely to move said plate portions toward and away from each other, at least one unthreaded rod mounted under said conveyor parallel to said threaded rod and slidably engaged by said threaded members of said centering guide structures for guiding the left and right movement thereof, actuator means for rotating said threaded rod, and means supporting said rods. 